posted May 21, 2006 10:11 PM              

By Richard A. Viguerie
Sunday, May 21, 2006; B01

As a candidate in 2000, George W. Bush was a Rorschach test. Country Club Republicans saw him as another George H.W. Bush; some conservatives, thinking wishfully, saw him as another Ronald Reagan. He called himself a "compassionate conservative," which meant whatever one wanted it to mean. Experts from across the party's spectrum were flown to Austin to brief Bush and reported back: "He's one of us."

Republicans were desperate to retake the White House, conservatives were desperate to get the Clinton liberals out and there was no direct heir to Reagan running for president. So most conservatives supported Bush as the strongest candidate -- some enthusiastically and some, like me, reluctantly. After the disastrous presidency of his father, our support for the son was a triumph of hope over experience.

Once he took office, conservatives were willing to grant this Bush a honeymoon. We were happy when he proposed tax cuts (small, but tax cuts nonetheless) and when he pushed for a missile defense system. Then came the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and conservatives came to see support for the president as an act of patriotism.

Conservatives tolerated the No Child Left Behind Act, an extensive intrusion into state and local education, and the budget-busting Medicare prescription drug benefit. They tolerated the greatest increase in spending since Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society. They tolerated Bush's failure to veto a single bill, and his refusal to enforce immigration laws. They even tolerated his signing of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance overhaul, even though Bush's opposition to that measure was a key reason they backed him over Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) in the 2000 primaries.

In 2004, Republican leaders pleaded with conservatives -- particularly religious conservatives -- to register people to vote and help them turn out on Election Day. Those efforts strengthened Republicans in Congress and probably saved the Bush presidency. We were told: Just wait till the second term. Then, the president, freed of concern over reelection and backed by a Republican Congress, would take off the gloves and fight for the conservative agenda. Just wait.

We're still waiting.

Sixty-five months into Bush's presidency, conservatives feel betrayed. After the "Bridge to Nowhere" transportation bill, the Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination and the Dubai Ports World deal, the immigration crisis was the tipping point for us. Indeed, a Washington Post-ABC News poll found last week that Republican disapproval of Bush's presidency had increased from 16 percent to 30 percent in one month. It is largely the defection of conservatives that is driving the president's poll numbers to new lows.

Emboldened and interconnected as never before by alternative media, such as talk radio and Internet blogs, many conservatives have concluded that the benefits of unwavering support for the GOP simply do not, and will not, outweigh the costs.

The main cause of conservatives' anger with Bush is this: He talked like a conservative to win our votes but never governed like a conservative.

For all of conservatives' patience, we've been rewarded with the botched Hurricane Katrina response, headed by an unqualified director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which proved that the government isn't ready for the next disaster. We've been rewarded with an amnesty plan for illegal immigrants. We've been rewarded with a war in Iraq that drags on because of the failure to provide adequate resources at the beginning, and with exactly the sort of "nation-building" that Candidate Bush said he opposed.

Republicans in Congress and at the White House seem oblivious to the rising threat of communist China and of Vladimir Putin's Russia. Despite the temporary appointment of conservative John R. Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the current GOP leadership keeps shoveling money to the world body despite its refusal to change.

As for the Supreme Court, Bush's failed nomination of Miers, his personal lawyer, represented the breaking of what we took as an explicit promise to appoint more Antonin Scalias and Clarence Thomases, and it was an inexcusable act of cronyism.

Conservatives hope that John G. Roberts and Samuel A. Alito will turn out to be conservatives, as we were promised, but we are aware that six of nine previous Republican appointees to the Supreme Court turned out to be liberals or swing voters. And none of Bush's Supreme Court nominees had a significant paper trail as a conservative legal scholar. That sends a message to conservative lawyers and judges: If you want to be on the Supreme Court someday, hide your conservatism.

But conservatives don't blame the current mess just on Bush. They recognize the problem today is also at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

For years, congressional Republicans have sold themselves to conservatives as the continuation of the Reagan revolution. We were told that they would take on the Washington special interests -- that they would, in essence, tear down K Street and sow the earth with salt to make sure nothing ever grew there again.

But over time, most of them turned into the sort of unprincipled power brokers they had ousted in 1994. They lost interest in furthering conservative ideas, and they turned their attention to getting their share of the pork. Conservatives did not spend decades going door to door, staffing phone banks and compiling lists of like-minded voters so Republican congressmen could have highways named after them and so there could be an affirmative-action program for Republican lobbyists.

White House and congressional Republicans seem to have adopted a one-word strategy: bribery. Buy off seniors with a prescription drug benefit. Buy off the steel industry with tariffs. Buy off agribusiness with subsidies. The cost of illegal bribery (see the case of former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham) pales next to that of legal bribery such as congressional earmarks.

In today's Washington, where are the serious efforts by Republicans to protect unborn children from abortion? Where is the campaign for a constitutional amendment to prevent liberal judges from allowing same-sex marriage?

Instead of conservative action on social issues, the Republican-controlled House has approved more taxpayers' money for an embryo-killing type of stem cell research. And it passed a "hate crimes" measure that could lead to the classification as "hate" of criticism of homosexual activity. And in the Senate, Republicans have let key judicial nominees languish, even when Bush has nominated conservatives for lower courts. Would a strong Senate leader such as LBJ have let his party's nominees fail for lack of a floor vote?

As long as Democrats controlled Congress or the White House, Republicans could tell conservatives they deserved support because of what they would do, someday. Now we know what they do when they have control. Their agenda comes from Big Business, not from grass-roots conservatives.

But unhappy conservatives should be taken seriously. When conservatives are unhappy, bad things happen to the Republican Party.

In 1948, conservatives were unhappy with Thomas E. Dewey's liberal Republican "me too" campaign, and enough of them stayed home to give the election to Harry S. Truman. In 1960, conservatives were unhappy with Richard M. Nixon's negotiations with Nelson A. Rockefeller to divide the spoils of victory before victory was even achieved, and John F. Kennedy won.

In 1974, conservatives were unhappy with the corruption and Big Government policies of Nixon's White House and with President Gerald R. Ford's selection of Rockefeller as his vice president, and this led to major Republican losses in the congressional races that year. By 1976, conservatives were fed up with Ford's adoption of Rockefeller's agenda, and Jimmy Carter was elected with the backing of Christian conservatives.

In 1992, conservatives were so unhappy with President George H.W. Bush's open disdain for them that they staged an open rebellion, first with the candidacy of Patrick J. Buchanan and then with Ross Perot. The result was an incumbent president receiving a paltry 37 percent of the vote. In 1998, conservatives were demoralized by congressional Republicans' wild spending and their backing away from conservative ideas. The result was an unexpected loss of seats in the House and the resignation of Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.).

The current record of Washington Republicans is so bad that, without a drastic change in direction, millions of conservatives will again stay home this November.

And maybe they should. Conservatives are beginning to realize that nothing will change until there's a change in the GOP leadership. If congressional Republicans win this fall, they will see themselves as vindicated, and nothing will get better.

If conservatives accept the idea that we must support Republicans no matter what they do, we give up our bargaining position and any chance at getting things done. We're like a union that agrees never to strike, no matter how badly its members are treated. Sometimes it is better to stand on principle and suffer a temporary defeat. If Ford had won in 1976, it's unlikely Reagan ever would have been president. If the elder Bush had won in 1992, it's unlikely the Republicans would have taken control of Congress in 1994.

At the very least, conservatives must stop funding the Republican National Committee and other party groups. (Let Big Business take care of that!) Instead, conservatives should dedicate their money and volunteer efforts toward conservative groups and conservative candidates. They should redirect their anger into building a third force -- not a third party, but a movement independent of any party. They should lay the groundwork for a rebirth of the conservative movement and for the 2008 campaign, when, perhaps, a new generation of conservative leaders will step forward.

I've never seen conservatives so downright fed up as they are today. The current relationship between Washington Republicans and the nation's conservatives makes me think of a cheating husband whose wife catches him, and forgives him, time and time again. Then one day he comes home to discover that she has packed her bags and called a cab -- and a divorce lawyer.

As the philanderer learns: Hell hath no fury. . . .

________________

posted May 22, 2006 12:23 AM              

Good article prox.

If the conservatives really want to get rid of Bush they should all stay home in November so the Dems can win back the House and Congress and we can get this guy impeached.

posted May 22, 2006 12:53 AM              

We can't get bush impeached!

Think about it....

That would PUT CHENEY IN OFFICE!

eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

So we can't settle for less than this....

posted May 22, 2006 08:57 PM            

Viguerie is right about most of what he said and the general thrust of what he said is true as well.

Conservative Republicans, Conservative Democrats and Conservative Independents didn't elect the Republican Congress or Bush to out democrat the democrats.

Viguerie did well to not mention Afghanistan, Iraq or the war on terror and terrorists. That's one of the Bush bright spots.

He's wrong about Katrina which was a shared failure but the responsibility falls more heavily on the state and city responders. FEMA is not a first responder in spite of leftist attempts to paint that picture. He may be right neither the agency or state and local governments are ready for another Katrina.

But none of the Republican lapses in conservative governance could match the catastrophe of an Algore or Kerry presidency or the absolute shambles a far left radical democrat Congress would preside over....and there is no question the current crop of democrats are far, far left radicals. Led by Dean, Pelosi, Reid, Kennedy, Leahy, Durbin, Conyers et.al., they
are in danger of falling off the left edge of the earth and they are no reasonable alternative to the democrat acting Republicans.

posted May 22, 2006 10:13 PM              

Love and Respect for ALL. .

posted May 22, 2006 11:15 PM              

"Can't let Victor Ashe see this, Kerry...."

posted May 23, 2006 01:41 AM              

WHO IS VICTOR ASHE?

posted May 23, 2006 02:00 AM              

Here you will find out the little known truth concerning President George W. Bush, Victor Ashe, the current American ambassador to Poland (formerly mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee and Exec. V.P.; C.F.O. of Fannie Mae), and their adulterous-bisexual relationship with a Las Vegas woman in 1984.

This situation took place in 1984 in the State of Tennessee. It concerns a 41 year old woman [currently residing in Las Vegas], Victor Ashe and George Bush's encounter in 1984 during the senate debates between Al Gore, Jr., Victor Ashe and Ed McAteer. She was invited to come to Tennessee by Victor Ashe. While attending one of these debates she spoke briefly with Ed McAteer (Senatorial candidate in 1984 who debated alongside Al Gore, Jr. and Victor Ashe, and was responsible in part for the emergence of the Religious Right).

Members of the mainstream media (CNN, FOX/news, Chicago Tribune) have known about this Las Vegas woman [well known in the BDSM underground] since September of 2003 yet they have done little if anything to get to the bottom of it. Like Bush's national guard service records they've given him a free pass concerning the what, where and when of his participation in the Texas Air National Guard.

We believe if the whereabouts and war-time behavior of Senator Kerry during his tour in Vietnam in the early 70's are matters of importance to the American people [according to Sinclair Broadcasting and Swift Boat Vets for Truth] then the past behavior of this President and his involvement in a homosexual situation with another man in the mid 80's is of equal importance.

When this Las Vegas woman told us about her conversation with Ed McAteer we thought it was something that should be looked into. He was being treated for cancer so we had to move quickly to open a dialogue. We believed obtaining a death bed declaration [if it came down to that] of a man of Ed McAteer's stature in the Christian community [he was called the Godfather of the Religious Right] would have held tremendous weight. Ed [finally] coming forward to say what he witnessed or knew concerning this matter would have been unimpeachable. Ed was a staunch supporter of the state of Israel and quietly lobbied for the post of U.S. ambassador to Israel back in 2001 but was turned down for the position by none other than George W. Bush. It seems in George W. Bush's isolated bubble, ambassadorships are rewards set aside for friends and lovers only.

We initially contacted Mr. McAteer back in May of this year. He mentioned at that time Victor Ashe's sexual shenanigans were no secret in Tennessee. He seemed resentful of his party's choice to back a 'sodomite' which is why he ran as an independent. Ed was on chemotherapy and it was extremely difficult for him to talk so we deferred until late August at which time his wife [Faye] informed us he wanted to talk further but was under doctors orders to refrain from all strenuous activity. Sadly, Ed McAteer passed away on Oct. 5, 2004, before we could do a follow-up interview, he was 78. For Ed's sake [and that of his family] we hope his departure was natural [God's will], however, the timing of it all seems rather untimely in our opinion. It bares looking into by the Tennessee authorities.

When he passed way another writer contacted Faye and she imparted to him that Ed seemed upset upon returning from the debate in Chattanooga back in 1984. Was Ed aware of Victor Ashe and George W. Bush's bisexual behavior? Perhaps that is what upset him so.

Unfortunately he didn't get the chance to tell us what he witnessed that night that upset him or if he remembered talking with the Las Vegas woman.

The Las Vegas woman was paid $15,000 to arrange sexual liaisons involving bisexual men for George W. Bush (then private citizen) and Victor Ashe (then a Tennessee State Senator). These adulterous bisexual affairs (3 encounters in all-3 different cities) took place in the state of Tennessee during the 1984 senate debates between, Al Gore, Jr., Victor Ashe and Ed McAteer. An African-American woman was invited to participate in this adulterous sexual encounter with George W. Bush and Victor Ashe immediately following the Chattanooga senatorial debate. This woman was paid $1,500. A few years later the Las Vegas woman was detained in Washington D.C. with Victor Ashe by the Metro D.C. police. She was released but Victor was taken into custody.

So confident was this woman that Ed would have remembered her [and their meeting] she had finally come forward and was prepared to tell it all. She will swear to the authenticity of what is being imparted here, which is the reason that we built this website so we could get this information out to you.

Bush & Co. will no doubt tell the world she's insane, politically motivated thus concocting this for smear reasons. She is of sound mind and body and welcomes all inquires from the mainstream media. This woman deeply laments not having come forward back in 2000 when then Governor Bush was running for the highest office in the land against [ironically] Vice President Al Gore, Jr.

Disclosure of George W. Bush's adulterous bisexual behavior will only happen if the American public demand answers. Contact your local news organizations demanding that this truth be revealed and not go the way of his Texas Air National Guard records.

Direct all media inquires to thetruthaboutbushin84@yahoo.com
http://bushssecretlifein84.tripod.com/

posted May 24, 2006 03:43 PM              

President George W. Bush has sent Victor Ashe, the US Ambassador to Poland and a "special" friend since their cheerleader and cohabitation days at Yale University, "candy and flowers" via US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Armitage. In another matter, Armitage surprised observers in Warsaw by an apparent criticism of his boss, the president.

by Dodaj Komentarz

(Warsaw, Sept. 17, 2004) "He has proved beyond the shadow of doubt that he is inhuman," Armitage, who is on a visit to Poland, told a press conference here. "Anyone who would use (the killing of) innocents for political aims is not worthy of existence in the type of society that we endorse," he added. (Xinhua News Agency)

Obviously this is a thinly veiled attack on his boss, president George W. Bush, who sent him to Poland. More than 10,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed by the US military, most of them children. Neighboring Iran is (wisely) arming itself with nuclear weapons, hoping to avoid a similar fate, as is North Korea.

The real reason Armitage is in Poland is to check up on the US Ambassador to Poland, Victor Ashe.

Mr. Ashe and president Bush have had a "special relationship" since their college days at Yale, where they were roommates and male cheerleaders together.

Could it be that those who have the most to hide squeak the loudest? Instead of oppressing gays and lesbians, it's time for the US to create an atmosphere of acceptance and tolerance and coax Dubya out of the closet. It's okay, George, really. Here are a couple of telltale quotes from the president.

"We're a country based on fabulous values... And we'll prevail, because we're a fabulous nation, and we're a fabulous nation because we're a nation full of fabulous people. "

The "President chuckled. "Well, you got a pretty face," he told the surprised Mr. Reid. He wasn't done. "You got a pretty face," he said again. "You're a good-looking guy. Better looking than my Scott anyway.""

Just how "fabulous" is Mr. Ashe, Georgie?

"It’s known by many sources that George W. Bush in 1968 [when he was tapped into the Skulls and Bones] was performing homosexual acts with his male sex-mate and Yale roommate Mayor Ashe of Knoxville, TN. While mayor, Ashe made several unscheduled visits to the White House and, according to US Secret Service sources, Bush made at least 8 unscheduled and unannounced trips to Knoxville while he has been President.

Ashe is suspected of two arrests. One was in Washington DC and the other was in Atlanta, while he was a Tennessee state legislator. They allegedly involved arrests while he was picking up male tranvestite prostitutes in public restrooms.

Ashe was allegedly introduced on live TV, by Peter Jennings, as "The gay mayor from Knoxville" at a national mayor's conference in San Francisco."

"Not surprisingly, loyalty often flows in the other direction. In 1984 Bush flew to Tennessee to accompany the Republican Senate nominee and Bonesman ('67) Victor Ashe on a seven-city tour. Ashe lost to Al Gore."

The above quote is from Sherman Skolnick's Web site.

www.bettybowers.com/isbushgay.html

The mainline Australian newspaper, The Age, reported last week, prior to the release of Kitty Kelley's book "The Family" (Bush's) some charges Kelley could make, including:

"She may also raise a nasty rumour that circulates in Washington DC from time to time, that President Bush had a 'special relationship' with a former mayor of Tennessee, Victor Ashe, who is now the US ambassador to Poland.

It appears that Kitty is letting the cat out of the bag.

A newspaper in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, noted the president's lack of manliness in the 9/11 catastrophe. Bush was too stunned to react for about 9 minutes. Then he spent the rest of the day boring holes in the sky with Air Force One and hiding like a rabbit in a hole in the ground near Omaha, Nebraska.

"W" STANDS FOR "WIMP" - The evidence of these stories is in the book, "The Family," in hundreds of notes. The stories are well souced, over 800 sources.

The Kitty Kelley book, The Family, also reports that George Bush has engaged in domestic violence. This could have been verbal abuse, which Bush is noted for and which earned him the nickname "Lip" at Yale. Whatever it was, it prompted Laura Bush to flee her own home on more than one occasion, the book says, according to the Sunday Herald (UK) newspaper. Real men do not bully women.

There are even suspicions in the US that the anthrax mailings right after 9/11 -- a matter that like Bin Laden, is still unsolved -- was done to shut down the National Enquirer newspaper in Florida, which supposedly had photos of George W. Bush from his Skull and Bones secret society days at Yale in compromising sexual positions. Ambassador Ashe was a member of Skull and Bones at the same time. The only casualty of the Florida attack was the photo editor, Bob Stevens, whose widow is suing the US Government for not keeping the anthrax under control. The building was bought for a ridiculously low price by none other than the New York mayor, George Bush's pal, Rudy Guiliani, who has cleaned it up.

Rudy got the photos, but naturally there are copies.

The information about the homosexual relation was first reported in Time. On 2004-02-08 on Meet the Press with Tim Russert, these questions were also brought up.

To me it's irrelevant if Bush is in the closet or not but it's enough to know that Bush puts his buddies in these diplomatic posts
.